


Around the World

by celtic7irish



Series: Discord Key Challenge Fics [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Fluff, Get-Together Fic, M/M, Traveling, winteriron
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-11
Updated: 2018-02-11
Packaged: 2019-03-16 20:48:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13644159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celtic7irish/pseuds/celtic7irish
Summary: Tony considered himself a well-traveled man.  He’d sold weapons in well over a hundred countries in his time.  He knew the best places to make contacts, to find a drink, to find a lay.  He’d flown all over the world, on business trips and pleasure trips and just-because trips.  He’d hunted fugitives in the Alaskan wilderness, swooping down in his Iron Man armor and scooping them up.  He’d journeyed to Wakanda for diplomatic negotiations and been given a tour of the palace and the highlights of the technologically advanced city.But he’d never traveled like this.





	Around the World

**Author's Note:**

  * For [KiraStain](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KiraStain/gifts).



> For the prompt: Travel

Tony considered himself a well-traveled man.  He’d sold weapons in well over a hundred countries in his time.  He knew the best places to make contacts, to find a drink, to find a lay.  He’d flown all over the world, on business trips and pleasure trips and just-because trips.  He’d hunted fugitives in the Alaskan wilderness, swooping down in his Iron Man armor and scooping them up.  He’d journeyed to Wakanda for diplomatic negotiations and been given a tour of the palace and the highlights of the technologically advanced city.

But he’d never traveled like this.  Never explored the hub of a large city just to see its people, to taste the local dishes.  He’d never traveled to a small village for the sole purpose of providing them with medical aid and food and clean water.  He’d never traipsed through a jungle with only the bare necessities to survive the weather and the predators, relying on the local plants and terrain and wildlife to provide him with food and water.

But Bucky’s appearance had changed all that.  When he’d first come to the Tower, following his Captain, he’d oftentimes disappeared.  Steve would get moody, worried that his friend had run, and so Tony had taken it upon himself to keep track of the evasive Soldier.  Sometimes it was easy, and Jarvis was able to track him to a local park or gallery or museum.  Sometimes he left the city, and Jarvis would have to track a bus ticket.  If he was gone for more than a day, Tony would grab the armor and go after him.  Barnes would just look at him, blink, and then follow him home like a good little soldier.

Occasionally, he’d disappear for a few hours to somewhere that Jarvis couldn’t track, and Tony would bluff his way through Steve’s inquiries until the guy’s friend returned, looking for all the world like he’d just gone on a casual stroll around the block.  So Tony knew that if the Soldier didn’t want to be found, he wouldn’t be, no matter who was looking.

The first time he left the country, though, Tony thought Steve was going to have an aneurism.  But Bucky hadn’t tried to hide his trail, hadn’t even bothered to use cash.  He’d swiped one of Tony’s black credit cards and just gone off to France, casual as you please.  Tony hadn’t chased after him that time, content to keep watch as long as Bucky wasn’t trying to hide his location.  The man had returned eight days later, looking far more relaxed than he had when he’d left.  He’d shot Tony a puzzled frown before Steve had bombarded him with questions, hurt that he’d left without Steve.  Not that Steve needed to monitor him, of course, but he got worried, and he didn’t like being so far away, not after he’d just found Bucky again.

The next time Bucky had left the country, Jarvis had managed to track him to Russia, and had then promptly lost him.  Steve had nearly freaked out, but a call from Fury had pulled him away into a mission for Shield, finding and retrieving a couple of high-powered inhumans that were in trouble and causing chaos in their wake.

So Tony had just rolled his eyes and called his suit, grumbling the whole time about having to go to Russia in the middle of winter.  But Bucky had been waiting for him right at the border, and when Tony had touched down, he had just grinned.  “Figured it’d be you.  C’mon, you ever tried Pirozhki?” he asked, shoving his hands into the pockets of his coat.  “Or knish?”  He gave Tony a grin that was almost boyish, making him young and less murderous than his usual glower.

Tony blinked at the non-sequitor.  But he was nothing if not adaptable, and he smirked back.  “Are you asking me to walk into Russia and try the local cuisine?” he asked.

Bucky shrugged, looking away.  “Not if you don’t want to,” he said quietly.

“I’m kind of obviously not from around here,” Tony pointed out, gesturing to his suit.  Bucky just nudged a duffle bag sitting by his feet in Tony’s direction.   Tony realized that there must be clothes in there.

“Jarvis?  Steve still on that mission?” he asked lowly.  Bucky’s brows furrowed, and Tony made note that the Winter Soldier apparently had hearing that was at least as good as Steve’s, if not better.

“He is, sir,” the AI confirmed.  “Estimated completion time is three days.”

Tony nodded, thanked Jarvis, and disconnected.  Clapping his hands together, he grinned back at Bucky.  “Sure, why the hell not?” he asked gamely.  “I’m here already.”

And that was the first time that Tony really  _ traveled _ , as the two of them made their way from one side of Russia to the other, wearing authentic Russian garments and sampling local cuisines, immersing themselves in a new culture.  Tony’s favorite part was when the two of them wandered into Moscow during their Russian Winter Festival.  Watching Bucky twirl amongst the reveling dancers as if he belonged here left Tony breathless and laughing, and the troika ride was charming in its own way, snuggled together under a warm blanket while three beautiful snow-white horses pranced along the snow-covered lanes, drawing the sleigh behind them.

Tony kept his communicator with him at all times, in case an Avengers emergency rose up, but for just over a week, all was quiet on the home front, and Tony found himself admiring a country that he’d only ever been in briefly, and then only on business.

After that, Bucky would occasionally swing by his lab – always when his schedule at SI was clear, for some reason – and ask him if he wanted to go to Peru, or Malaysia, or India.  Tony usually agreed, and though he pointed out more than once that he owned his own jet and could get them anywhere they needed to go, Bucky seemed to have more fun making his own way out of the country and across borders.  He was pretty good at it, too.

And so Tony learned what traveling the world really meant.  He finally appreciated why Bruce would sometimes mention Calcutta or Mexico or one of the many villages he’d been to when he was running from Ross and the United States military.  Countries weren’t just about business opportunities.  They were places, where people lived and laughed and loved and celebrated and mourned and remembered.  Places where people had been to war, or where they lived in small villages built in mountain valleys, or giant cities where the loud hum of traffic and people was a constant companion.  There were local cuisines and local customs, different ways of life.  Bucky seemed to adjust to all of them, and Tony tried to follow his example, stumbling along until he figured out a rhythm.  Bucky never let him fail, though, never let him do or say something that would make him feel like an idiot or offend the natives, and Tony was grateful.

The first time he kissed Bucky, they were standing under an overhanging tree on a wooden walkway, surrounded by turquoise water at one of the many waterfalls scattered throughout the Plitvice National Park in Croatia.  The first time he danced with Bucky, they were celebrating the Chinese New Year, twirling around in the middle of the night on a street lit by lanterns.  Their first flight together was in a hot air balloon over the snowy landscape of Switzerland.

The two of them would bring back trinkets for the others, along with stories of their travels.  Clint and Natasha were actually pretty well traveled themselves, and Bruce had spent a lot of time hiding in poor, crowded countries, relying on the sheer number and disinterest of the locals to keep him under the radar.  Steve had visited much of Europe during the war, and had spent some time traveling after his release from the ice.  But the touristy thing? Traveling just for the sake of being somewhere  _ not-here _ ?  The thought had never crossed their minds.

“So…” Tony drawled one night, curled up on the couch under a thick afghan with a hot mug of cocoa and his toes buried under Bucky’s thighs while the Soldier worked on a mission report, “how would you feel about a trip to Mauritius?”  He kept his tone casual, doing his best to give nothing away.

He must have succeeded because Bucky’s eyes flicked curiously in his direction before dropping back to the report in his lap.  “Where’s that?” he asked.

“In the middle of the Indian Ocean,” Tony informed him, pleased that he’d finally found the perfect location…one that Bucky hadn’t been to.  “A little ways off the coast of Africa, if you wanted to visit there while we’re at it.”

Bucky blinked, then looked up at him more intently, seemingly having caught on that there was more to the question than Tony was letting on.  His eyes narrowed.  “Tony,” he said slowly, “why, exactly, do you want to go some tiny island in the middle of the Indian Ocean?  Not,” he backtracked, holding up a hand, “that I’m saying no, but there’s more to this than just wanting to travel somewhere new.  You’ve done research.  So what gives?”

Tony sighed, swiping a hand through his hair before wrapping it back around his hot drink.  “I was kinda hoping you’d just say yes, and I could surprise you,” he admitted.

“Tony,” Bucky started, his face crumpling, and Tony smiled at him.

“Naw, it’s fine,” he told him.  “I probably wouldn’t have been able to keep it a secret much longer anyhow.  No brain to mouth filter.”  Shifting around, Tony sat up properly, setting the cocoa aside and reaching into the pocket of his sweatpants.  He hesitated for a moment, his fingers brushing the sides of the box, before pulling it out and holding it out towards Bucky as an offering.  “I….there’s only a one-day residency requirement,” he admitted ruefully.  “And I figured we’ve done all our other firsts while traveling, why not this?”

Bucky was staring at the box in his hands like it was a snake about to bite him, and Tony flinched, moving to pull it back.  “Okay, you’re right, it’s too soon, I shouldn’t have brought this up yet, I’ll just – mmph!”  His babbling was cut off when Bucky pounced on him, pressing him back into the couch so he could kiss the air from Tony’s lungs, his metal hand reaching out and snagging the ring box before Tony could drop it in his surprise.

Tony wrapped his arms around Bucky’s neck, thoroughly enjoying the feel of the other man against him, a long hard line of heat and pressure.  When they finally broke apart, he smiled hopefully up at Bucky, this wild, crazy, wonderful man, and asked, “Is that a yes?”

Bucky laughed.  “Yes, yes, of course it is,” he agreed, swooping down for another kiss, the ring box and its contents all but forgotten in the moment.  He pulled back, resting his forehead against Tony’s and smiling down at him.  “I’ll even let you fly us in your jet,” he promised.

Tony’s fervent, “Finally!” ended their conversation for the next several hours.

God, Tony loved traveling.


End file.
